Project 333 (Clothing Cost Reduction)

One budget category that I’ve nearly forgotten about is for clothing.  It’s become such an irregular category for us to spend money on at this point.  How?  Well, my wife and I stumbled across a slow fashion movement about six months ago called Project 333.  The general idea is to reduce my wardrobe down to 33 items that I will wear over the next three months.  There are a few exceptions such as my wedding ring, pajamas, and underwear.  I was the first to start this journey, followed by my wife (though she was skeptical about being able to get to 33 items per season).

Here are some examples of clothes I donated:

• A 2-piece black suit.  I hadn’t worn it in more than 5 years, and it didn’t fit when I tried it on anyway.  My thought is that I’ll rent one if I ever do need to be this formal.

• Collared, button-down dress shirts.  My workplace’s dress code has changed from requiring these type of shirts to polos, so the majority of these had a lot of dust on them.  Also, many were too small - the dress code changed with the arrival of COVID, so it had been at least 4 years since these were worn.  I did keep one dress shirt that I like and that fits well for special occasions.

• Wool dress pants.  My work dress code used to require dress pants, but has since changed to jeans.  I decided I am also fine with wearing nice jeans, the one button-down dress shirt, and a blazer for special occasions.

• Ties.  Formal style nowadays rarely requires these, and I hate wearing them anyway.

• Sweaters.  I’m the type of person that runs hot, so I don’t wear these.

When I first heard of this concept, it sounded too restricting.  Don’t I need a variety of clothes for different life situations?  This required careful evaluation of the clothes I actually wear on a day-to-day basis.  More importantly, wouldn’t everyone around me take offense to my wearing the same clothes over and over?  Answer: only one person asked about me wearing the same shirt every day since I decided to have all of my polos be the same color.  This person was more curious about it than anything, and went on to read more about Project 333.  I also ended up swapping out those purple polos for a more timeless navy blue.

Part of this challenge involved considering my assumptions regarding what others think of me.  Do I really care to make friends with someone who is shallow enough to dismiss me over having a small wardrobe?

I ended up surprised at how many clothes I donated as a part of the process.  Now that I have curated my wardrobe, I feel so much more free.  I could pack all of my clothes into a single suitcase if the need or desire ever arose.  Not to mention that my wife and I were able to rearrange items in closets and drawers to better use the space, which allows easier access to other items as well.

What does my wardrobe look like now?  First, my items that don’t count per the challenge rules:

• Wedding ring

• 10 pairs of underwear

• 10 pairs of regular socks

• 2 pairs of dress socks

• 7 undershirts

• 2 pairs of pajama pants

• 1 pair of pajama shorts

• Swim trunks (I am pretty sure this doesn’t count since it’s for exercising)

Here’s the grand inventory of items I have left across all seasons:

• 5 polos

• 5 T-shirts

• 1 blazer

• 1 dress shirt

• 3 long-sleeve henleys

• 2 pairs of jeans

• 1 pair of khaki shorts

• 1 winter coat

• 1 hoodie

• 1 heavy winter hat

• 1 lightweight winter hat

• 2 pair winter gloves

• 1 pair hiking shoes

• 1 pair everyday loafers

• 1 pair dress shoes

• 1 pair house slippers

• 1 belt

• 1 watch

• 1 work-branded vest

• 1 work-branded long-sleeve zip-up

My wife’s grand inventory ended up like this (again for all seasons):

• 1 fancy dress

• 4 everyday dresses

• 2 long sleeve shirts

• 3 T-shirts

• 2 shorts

• 1 pair of jeans

• 2 dress pants

• 3 light jackets/cardigans

• 2 sweaters

• 9 earrings

• 3 necklaces

• 3 bracelets

• 3 pins

• 4 rings

• 6 pairs of shoes

• 2 pashminas

• 3 winter scarves

• 1 fashion scarf

• 2 silk head scarves

• 1 ear warmer

• 1 belt

• 2 fingerless gloves

For a total of…32 items in my wardrobe.  And that’s for all seasons, whereas the challenge specifies 3 month periods to account for weather changes.  My wife was able to reduce down to 61 items across all seasons (curated to 33 items or less per season).  In practice, this means I use 3 of the 5 drawers in my chest of drawers, plus 6 to 12 inches of hanging space for the winter coat, dress shirt, and blazer.  My wife freed up more than half of the closet, as well as a drawer in her chest of drawers that is now used for crocheting supplies.  In addition, we were able to move the sheets and towels to the other drawers in my chest of drawers instead of under-bed storage.  Much easier to access!